Brotherhood of the Mammoth
The Brotherhood of the Mammoth was at one point a doomed company from an unknown crusading chapter. It was lost and stranded upon a feral death world known as Kor and thought lost to time. Rumor has it that they were aboard the company’s vessels awash in a sea of chaos and ended up shipwrecked upon a world in the earliest stages of civilization. The Brotherhood of the Mammoth fought tooth and nail for survival on the savage and unforgiving world of Kor. Marines died out and recruited from the local population so they could continue their war against the forces of chaos that plagued the world. So high was the death rate that all 100 of the original marines soon died and were replaced by their successors. Combat doctrine became ritual, weapons became holy artifacts, and their faith in the Emperor melded with local primitive superstitions. By the time the Imperium made contact with them once again, almost seven hundred years later, they hardly resembled space marines at all. The Brotherhood’s fanatical devotion and savage military tactics make them unparalleled weapons of war- if not blunt ones. Their genetic stock had changed, tempered by the harsh environmental pressures of their home world and even the brightest minds of the Mechanicus cannot not tell from what stock they came. For this reason and many others the lost company was refounded as a full chapter and their generic stock flourished. They now recruit exclusively from the death world of Kor where recruits have to not only survive the intense prehistoric savagery but thrive in it! Present Day The Brotherhood of the Mammoth, or “Mammoths” are shock troopers used when subtlety is not required. They are employed primarily by the Inquisition and are specialists in fighting orks. The Ecclesiarchy has many preachers and missionaries amongst their number as they seem to lack a deep understanding of faith and other esoteric topics. When not on missing they return to their savage homeworld until they are needed again and are never left unsupervised. The Space Wolves and White Scars (and their successor chapters) seem to like the Mammoths just fine but even they find them “dumb” and brutish. Chapter Disposition Mammoths are a simple lot, most only speak a degenerated form of low Gothic, and follow tribal ways. They revere the Emperor and have been re-educated since rejoining the Imperium, but their chapter cult is still a mess of “primitive superstition” (as the Inquisition puts it) and modern Imperial faith. They see the Emperor as a benevolent defender of humanity, protecting it from “predators” and keeping the “tribe of humanity” alive. This is good enough for the Inquisition- it is a simple interpretation but it is one that keeps the Mammoths on the path. To them the term “Emperor” is a proper noun; the personal name for their deity and not a rank or title someone can have. Mammoths are always awed by weaponry as such things have a deep superstitious and ritualistic meaning to the chapter. Before their rediscovery they passed down weapons marine-to-marine and repaired them with whatever they could. Many of their bolters have hand-carved wooden casings or pieces of metal replaced with bone. Since a single bolter round could fell herd animals or kill a predator it was a prize artifact. They only had a limited supply of them so they have a superstition that bolter ammunition is partially divine or somehow magical in nature. They were only able to maintain a small supply of ammo over the centuries thanks to an ancient, pre-heresy, emergency ammunition converter, known to them as “The Giver”. It had been stored on their ship as a minor relic and, if given suitable materials, it produced just one round per day if the proper minerals were placed in it. Such bullets are called “Emperor’s Stone” or, in their guttural slang, “Ump’tones”. The Mammonths and those on Kor believed that Ump’tones can literally called the wrath of the Emperor down upon whatever they pointed it at. While the marines of the chapter now understand the fundamentals of how weapons work, they still believe that bolter rounds (Ump’tones) double as religious artifacts. To this day Mammonths are rewarded with Ump’tones when they commit acts of great valor. Mammoths also believed magic utterances gave the ump’tone greater power and thus often yelled or scream as their fired their weapon. In modern times they have reclaimed the full knowledge of how these weapons work but still believe in the superstitious practices of old. They still scream when they fire as they believe it invokes the Emperor and his wrath. Genetics / Physical Appearance Genetically Mammoths have a relatively pure genetic stock though they tend to be somewhat shorter and stockier than other marines. They are about 10% shorter and wider. They have thicker brows than most and grow an abundance of dark hair (facial, and on their head). For this reason they rarely wear helmets, few fit their enlarged brows and those with heavy beards or hair find it impossible to properly seal it. During the 7 centuries where they were out of contact with the Imperium, getting the gene seed and sheer raw materials to make new marines was quite difficult. While the apothecaries and attendants of the crashed crusading vessel were still alive they died off eventually. The process of making a marine became a sacred rite and local substitutes for things like chemicals and stims were produced with great pomp and circumstance. Technical details passed into story and many superstitions and rituals sprung up around the process. The process became more and more erratic as those who actually knew what they were doing died off. When no one was left with first hand knowledge, during the last century before the Imperium re-established contact, the marine conversion process was unable to be fully carried out. Because of this, during “the lost times”, there were many marines who lacked certain organs or other required elements. There were even some who could not wear power armor due to the lack of black carapace and ones who didn’t grow much larger than the average adult male. When the Imperium found them these failures were either remedied, killed in battle, or were allowed to remain as the equivalent of scout sergeants. Despite their flaws those that went out in a blaze of glory are remembered and venerated by the chapter cult for their guts. Orks The Mammoths are very effective against orks, though not in the traditional way. The Mammoths love to brawl with greenskins and will go out of their way to kill them. The way the Mammoths think share some similarities to the orcs and thys the orcs seem to “respect” the Mammoth’s ways of fighting. Despite what others things, the Mammoths are not “dumb” but fight in a much more straightforward way than others, something orks “respekt”. The Mammoths have a tendency to savagely beat the orcs at their own games and frequently a Mammoth Chief (Captain) will kill a warboss in one-on-one combat. Special titles and trinkets are bestowed upon brothers who kill high ranking orks and killing a warboss is often part of the rite of claiming the title of chief. The Mammoths dedicate two squads to the ongoing Wildstorm WAAGH! and often use this conflict to test would-be leaders. Ordo Barbarus The Brotherhood of the Mammoth has been utilized by the Ordo Barbarus, an inquisitorial order who oversees pre-industrialized worlds. When technology cannot be brought to bear against these uncivilized worlds, but covert force is nonetheless required, the Brotherhood of the Mammoth are called in. During such mission they wear specially made pre-industrial armor to carry out the attacks (so they are not recognized). They find great joy in such missions are often do the dirty deed of the Ordo Barbarus with their bare hands. Notable Campaigns The War of the Spider's Web: After a botched attempt by a feudal warlord to claim power for herself by resurrecting megarachnids through Nurgle-magic failed (big surprise) the system she claimed dominion over was cut off from the Imperium for 600 years. Once the nature of the zombified megarachnids were discovered, several elements of the Imperium's military might descended on the system in what is now known as The War of the Spider's Web. The Brotherhood of the Mammoth famously lead the charge and eviscerated much opposition on the outer worlds before the Emperor’s Servants, Our Lady of the Bolter, and 99th Draxian Vipers reinforced them and drove the necrotic spider-beasts back to oblivion. The Extermination of Hollenschlund Main Article: Extermination of Hollenschlund A large pocket of Rangdan were discovered. They had ravaged an imperial world, conquered the entire system, and were breeding to start another large crusade that would have rivaled that of the xenos forces during the Rangdan Xenocides. A massive number of Imperial forces undertook the campaign of extermination on the Höllenschlund system. Half of the chapter was deployed and were the first on the scene. They fought with special distinction under the command of Chief Novak. Units Techmarines: Mammoths lack techmarines, their gear requisitions are handled primarily by the inquisition and several tech-priests have been assigned to act as support units. Hunters (Tactical Marines): Marines who have proven themselves on an offworld mission (called a “hunt” by the Mammoths) are awarded an ump’tone, a bolter, and the armor of a marine. Hunters are judged by how many kills they make and many carve it into their armor or paint it on. Hunters live together in a shared cave dwelling. They are expected to live or die together with their lodgemates. They hunt daily with bows and arrows or knives to keep their skills sharp. Hunters switch caves due to political and social reasons and sometimes certain units are deployed with more or less squad members than their expected number (range from 5-10 marines). Elders (Sergeants): Elders are older marines who have served for decades become the de facto leaders of a cave of hunters. While imperial records try to keep track of who is a squad’s "Sergeant", it’s often quite difficult to tell. As it’s the oldest one and marines shift caves frequently, an older marine may move caves to join a new one where they have seniority. Chiefs (Captain): A dozen or so caves make up a tribe. A tribe is equivalent to a Company though the numbers are only roughly the same. “Chief”, a title equivalent to that of a Captain, is won by beating the last chief who is typically exiled after his failure. A chief has a small retinue of bodyguards, typically old hunter buddies, and his cave is the “high cave”- the cave highest in elevation over that of his brothers. To be worthy of challenging another chief the challenger must have won glory for themselves. Most challengers will have at least bested a warboss in one-on-one combat before the tribe considers them worthy of challenging a chief. A given marine may only challenge a given chief once in their life. Herders (Assault Marines): Mammoths keep herds of animals for food and sport. Herders are responsible for the tribe’s animals, which often take the place of their vehicles. These brothers typically go somewhat feral themselves and are particularly cruel. They often grow their hair out quite long and paint their faces like fierce animals, and modify their armor extensively to have animalistic elements to it. They ride pterodactyls into combat and are famous for using thunderclaws and small hand-held power hatchets. Stonemen (Devastators): Those who have earned the right to sling the Emperor Stones dedicate themselves to mastering the art. In the time before the Imperium they often only had a single round of ammunition to kill a target and thus became expert marksmen. They had to be perfect shots because if they missed they’d likely die. Stonemen also are masters of the sling and in the lost times they would often use slings to fire bolter rounds or the few remaining grenades at their targets with uncanny accuracy. Unlike normal marines they use long range weapons like sniper rifles, stalker pattern bolters, las guns. They are known to still employ slings as a last result to throw a bolter round or grenade if pressed. Stonemen, so called because of how still they remain when hunting, are are able to pip an ace miles away and account for even the worst conditions of a shot. Famously, stonemen can use a long range weapon effectively even at melee range. Vultures (Scout Sergeants): In the last century before the Imperium found the Mammoths some marines were not fully developed. While they have since been given the necessary processes, they never matured quite as much and are thus on par with scouts. However they are considered some of the bravest and most honored members of the chapter as they fight despite their weakness. Many are some of the older members of the chapter and they train the newer members of the chapter, teaching them the old and savage ways. Chicks (Scouts): A chick is a new scout. They are typically armed with less civilized weapon (bows, slings, spears, knives, hatchets, etc) when first inducted and sent into the wild to claim their first kill. When they return their tribe feasts on the kill and they are allowed to learn the ways of the modern weapons (like bolters). Because of this “chicks” are often seen with weapons like bows and arrows still on their backs as backup weapons. They are mostly armed with melee weapons and tend to shy away from heavy ranged (as not all of them have practiced extensively with them yet). Biters (Chaplain): Biters are skalds who, in the elder day committed every technical manual, every logbook, and every scrap of data from their wrecked ship to memory and passed it down to future biters. They act as teachers, spiritual advisers, wise men, and as inspirations to the mammoth hordes. In combat their primary goal is to instill fear in the enemy. They paint their faces like nightmarish beasts, file their teeth to sharp points, and grow their nails long. The name “biters” comes from their practice of filing their teeth and that they are ever watchful of their flock- often using savage methods to keep their brother marines loyal. Drummers (Librarians): Psykers are rare among Mammoths and are not your typical disciplined battle brother. They possess none of the normal talents a psyker is expected to have- they possess the ability to throw their fellow battle brothers into a frothing rage, augment their physical strength, and keep them from feeling pain. This power, known as “the drumming” manifests itself in the form of loud percussion noises in the minds of the battle brothers. The drummer must whip himself into a frenzy, the more violent and passionate his action, the better his brothers will fight. He also serves as signal corps of sort, able to change the rhythm to signal different actions. Vehicles: There are few vehicles in the Mammoth’s armory. A few drop pods, a few thunderhawks, and a few rhinos. Most of their time they ride massive beasts, armored and terrifying, into combat. Giant armor-plated six-legged carnivorous horses are the equivalent of bikes, their feral riding bears take the place of land speeders, and their murder mammoths are equivalent of rhinos. They ride a pterodactyl-like creature called a “soar-wing” who serve much the same function as a jump pack. Ships are something truly alien to the Mammoths, even though they understand them they still believe them to be divine vessels that transport them across the stars. They hop onto any ship due to their infatuation with their magical powers, Imperial or otherwise, like it should take them somewhere and many have been caught (and executed) flying or trying to fly craft from other species. Theories A lot of their history was lost in the crash and, as the only records they had were passed down via an unreliable and highly ritualized oral tradition and nothing is for sure. The dates of their arrival are only guessed at as they recounted upon seeing the first Inquisitor who found them that they had been stranded on Kor for 12,005 “clinks”. “Clinks” are a poorly understood and local measure of time but it seems to be equivalent to “years” or perhaps a bit more. The relics they maintained are VERY old- some of it predating the rise of the first marine chapters and many from the days of the Horus Heresy. Some believe they might have been test soldiers, something between thunder warrior and space marine; a concept well-refuted, but persistent. Others believe what the Inquisition suggests, that they are a successor chapter of unknown origin from one of the early foundings. Their genetics have been changed by drastic environmental factors but it is most related to Imperial Fist or perhaps Ultramarine stock. The obvious answer is that they are related to the Space Wolves or White Scars, but that is only due to their savage ways and there is no genetic evidence for this. Tabletop Options Brotherhood of the Mammoth Battle Hardened Formation Battle Forged Armies of the Brotherhood of the Mammoth benefit from the “And They Shall Know No Fear”, “Defenders of Humanity”, and the following tactic: Chapter Tactic- Savage Hunters: BROTHERHOOD OF THE MAMMOTH units do not subtract 1 from hit rolls made when firing assault weapons if they advanced. In addition BROTHERHOOD OF THE MAMMOTH units gain +1 Strength if they lost at least 1 unit on their last turn. This increase in Strength only lasts 1 round. Brotherhood_of_the_Mammoth_Color_Final.png|A Brotherhood of the Mammoth Hunter (Tactical Marine) (Artist: Conrad Atega (https://www.artstation.com/wildcard24) Caveman Mrine.jpg|A Brotherhood of the Mammoth Hunter (Tactical Marine) Caveman Scout.jpg|A Brotherhood of the Mammoth Chick (Scout) Caveman Hunter.jpg|A Brotherhood of the Mammoth Stoneman (Devastator) Category:Chapters of Unknown Lineage